Effect of dietary fiber on microbial activity and microbial gas production in various regions of the gastrointestinal tract of pigs

The microbial activity, composition of the gas phase, and gas production rates in the gastrointestinal tract of pigs fed either a low- or a high-fiber diet were investigated. Dense populations of culturable anaerobic bacteria, high ATP concentrations, and high adenylate energy charges were found for the last third of the small intestine, indicating that substantial microbial activity takes place in that portion of the gut. The highest microbial activity (highest bacterium counts, highest ATP concentration, high adenylate energy charge, and low pH) was found in the cecum and proximal colon. Greater microbial activity was found in the stomach and all segments of the hindgut in the pigs fed the high-fiber diet than in the pigs fed the low-fiber diet. Considerable amounts of O2 were found in the stomach (around 5%), while the content of O2 in gas samples taken from all other parts of the gastrointestinal tract was < 1%. The highest concentrations and highest production rates for H2 were found in the last third of the small intestine. No methane could be detected in the stomach or the small intestine. The rate of production and concentration of methane in the cecum and the proximal colon were low, followed by a steady increase in the successive segments of the hindgut. A very good correlation between in vivo and in vitro measurements of methane production was found. The amount of CH4 produced by pigs fed the low-fiber diet was 1.4 liters/day per animal. Substantially larger amounts of CH4 were produced by pigs fed the high-fiber diet (12.5 liters/day)(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[1]  T. Miller,et al.  Fermentations by saccharolytic intestinal bacteria. , 1979, The American journal of clinical nutrition.

[2]  E. Kirk.  The quantity and composition of human colonic flatus. , 1949, Gastroenterology.

[3]  J. Robinson,et al.  In vitro total-gas, CH4, H2, volatile fatty acid, and lactate kinetics studies on luminal contents from the small intestine, cecum, and colon of the pig , 1989, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[4]  W. E. W. ROEDlGER.  Role of anaerobic bacteria in the metabolic welfare of the colonic mucosa in man , 2006 .

[5]  G. Macfarlane,et al.  Occurrence of sulphate-reducing bacteria in human faeces and the relationship of dissimilatory sulphate reduction to methanogenesis in the large gut. , 1988, The Journal of applied bacteriology.

[6]  R. Donaldson,et al.  Use of respiratory hydrogen (H2) excretion to detect carbohydrate malabsorption. , 1970, The Journal of laboratory and clinical medicine.

[7]  D. Jewell,et al.  The lactulose hydrogen breath test as a diagnostic test for small-bowel bacterial overgrowth. , 1979, Scandinavian journal of gastroenterology.

[8]  D. Noakes,et al.  Gastric secretion and fermentation in the suckling pig , 1976, British Journal of Nutrition.

[9]  D. Karl,et al.  Cellular nucleotide measurements and applications in microbial ecology. , 1980, Microbiological reviews.

[10]  G. Thorbek,et al.  Methane excretion in the growing pig , 1987, British Journal of Nutrition.

[11]  D. Calloway,et al.  Gases produced by Human Intestinal Microflora , 1966, Nature.

[12]  A. Dunn,et al.  THE CARBON DIOXID AND OXYGEN CONTENT OF STOMACH GAS IN NORMAL PERSONS , 1923 .

[13]  C. Stewart,et al.  Dissolved oxygen in the porcine gastrointestinal tract , 1993 .

[14]  J. S. Brand,et al.  Assay of picomole amounts of ATP, ADP, and AMP using the luciferase enzyme system. , 1975, Analytical biochemistry.

[15]  T. Wolever,et al.  Ileal loss of available carbohydrate in man: comparison of a breath hydrogen method with direct measurement using a human ileostomy model. , 1986, The American journal of gastroenterology.

[16]  R. Prins,et al.  Synthesis of acetate from CO2 in the cecum of some rodents , 1977 .

[17]  W D McElroy,et al.  The Energy Source for Bioluminescence in an Isolated System. , 1947, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[18]  D. E. Atkinson,et al.  Adenine nucleotide concentrations and turnover rates. Their correlation with biological activity in bacteria and yeast. , 1977, Advances in microbial physiology.

[19]  T. Miller,et al.  A serum bottle modification of the Hungate technique for cultivating obligate anaerobes. , 1974, Applied microbiology.

[20]  B. Eggum,et al.  The Influence of Different Protein, Fat and Mineral Levels on the Digestibility of Fat and Fatty Acids Measured at the Terminal Ileum and in Faeces of Growing Pigs , 1992 .

[21]  H. Jørgensen,et al.  THE NET ENERGY VALUE OF DIETS FOR GROWTH IN PIGS IN RELATION TO THE FERMENTATIVE PROCESSES IN THE DIGESTIVE TRACT AND THE SITE OF ABSORPTION OF THE NUTRIENTS , 1983 .

[22]  K. B. Bach Knudsen,et al.  Gastrointestinal implications in pigs of wheat and oat fractions , 1991, British Journal of Nutrition.

[23]  J. Fardy,et al.  Gastrointestinal gas. , 1988, CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne.

[24]  W. Drochner.  Digestion of carbohydrates in the pig. , 1993, Archiv fur Tierernahrung.

[25]  J. Grivet,et al.  NMR study of 13CO2 incorporation into short-chain fatty acids by pig large-intestinal flora. , 1990, Canadian journal of microbiology.

[26]  T. Miller,et al.  Acetate production from hydrogen and [13C]carbon dioxide by the microflora of human feces , 1988, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[27]  P. Moe,et al.  Animal and Human Calorimetry , 1988 .

[28]  T. Miller,et al.  Constancy of glucose and starch fermentations by two different human faecal microbial communities. , 1989, Gut.

[29]  K. B. Bach Knudsen,et al.  Gastrointestinal implications in pigs of wheat and oat fractions , 1991, British Journal of Nutrition.

[30]  A. Low,et al.  Studies on digestion and absorption in the intestines of growing pigs , 1979, British Journal of Nutrition.